What does "checkmate" mean?
Checkmate: A complete check; utter defeat or overthrow.
Additional senses
- 2.(Chess) To check (an adversary's king) in such a manner that escape in impossible; to defeat (an adversary) by putting his king in check from which there is no escape.
- 3.To defeat completely; to terminate; to thwart. To checkmate and control my just demands. Ford.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00